After Abusing Girl For Years In Family Home, A Napa Man Behind Bars: Napa Co. DA

NAPA VALLEY, CA — A Napa County jury’s verdict has now sent a Pope Valley man to prison for what prosecutors described as years of abuse against a young family member, ending a case that involved multiple trials, hundreds of illegal images, and a sentence that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office said 63-year-old David Earl Garland was sentenced to 30 years to life, plus an additional 16 years in state prison.

Napa District Attorney Allison Haley said sentence followed Garland’s conviction on multiple sex crimes involving a minor.

Jurors found Garland guilty Oct. 24, 2024, after prosecutors presented evidence that he sexually abused a young female family member at his home in Pope Valley between 2019 and 2020. Prosecutors said similar allegations also surfaced from a 2017 incident in Colorado involving the same victim.

According to prosecutors, the girl disclosed the ongoing abuse in late 2020 to her stepmother, who alerted other relatives and eventually authorities.

A jury convicted Garland of six felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child under 14, two felony counts of sexual penetration of a child 10 or younger, possession of child pornography, and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. Jurors also found that the victim was particularly vulnerable and that Garland held a position of trust.

Investigators with the Napa County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Garland’s home during the investigation and seized multiple electronic devices along with illegal firearms and ammunition.

A forensic analysis later uncovered hundreds of images and videos depicting graphic child sexual abuse material on those devices, prosecutors said.

Garland had previously been convicted in June 2023 of possessing child pornography and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition as a felon. However, jurors deadlocked at that time on the molestation charges, forcing prosecutors to retry those counts in October 2024.

Deputy District Attorney Shashawnya Worley prosecuted the case. After the sentencing by Judge Scott R. L. Young, Worley said the defendant repeatedly abused a position of trust to victimize a child and said the outcome reflects the seriousness of the harm.

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